Situated in the South Side of the city, Queen’s Park was named and constructed to commemorate the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Opened in 1862 – the year of Queen Victoria’s Silver Jubilee – it is one of Scotland’s best surviving examples of Victorian park design, and laid out by the most eminent park designers of his day, Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-65), an English gardener, architect and Member of Parliament, best known for designing London’s Crystal Palace.

And a later addition nestled in a quiet spot of the park is the Glasshouse built in 1905 (by Simpson and Farmer of Partick), and this is one of Glasgow’s hidden gems. Perhaps not as spectacular or as culturally significant as the Botanical Gardens in the West End, the Glasshouse nevertheless has been a favourite place to take the kids on an outing for years: a stunning building with a wide array of exotic plants, a koi carp pond and a reptile house with lots of creepy crawlies.

In the summer you can sit in the outside gated gardens under the weeping willows and enjoy a cold drink or three – but not for too long, because for some strange reason or other the opening hours are somewhat restricted, with the gates only open Mon-Fri 10am-4pm.